why all the speculation, why is it so hard to believe that he actually has as stomach virus and isnt/wont be physically ready for the australian open. his knee may not be 100percent either because of the illness. when someone gets sick their whole body usually gets weaker.

Djokovic seemed like the insurmountable challenge for Nadal(after those 7 losses) and he did overcome that to a great extent atleast on clay,why would a one-off freak loss against Rosol leave him in tatters? It just doesn't add up.

Losing 7 finals to Novak who was #1 or #2 is something. Getting blasted off court in the second round of the most prestigious slam to a unheard of #100 is something else. Maybe Nadal rationalized the losses to Djokovic somehow because Djokovic was owning the entire tour as well (went on an undefeated streak until 2011 RG). The Rosol loss on the other hand must have been tougher to come to terms with.

why all the speculation, why is it so hard to believe that he actually has as stomach virus and isnt/wont be physically ready for the australian open. his knee may not be 100percent either because of the illness. when someone gets sick their whole body usually gets weaker.

I can only speak for myself, so let me tell you why I am speculating.

1) After losing to Rosol, in a grinder of a match, where he was running all over the court, we suddenly start hearing about knee problems. Prior to this loss (and in fact, even a few days after the loss) there was no inkling of any issues.

2) Suddenly Nadal withdraws from the London Olympics, but is expected to be back for the US Open.

3) Nadal withdraws days before the US Open, and a few other tournaments, but is expected back for Davis Cup Finals, and year end championship.

4) He withdraws from those tournaments, but is expected to be back for the Australian Open

5) Now the knee is fixed, but he is withdrawing from the Aus Open because of a stomach flu.

Oh, and all this while, with a knee injury, whose recovery time, despite the best of modern medicine and technology, they could not predict within a range of 6 months, Nadal is entering and playing golf tournaments, a sport which is notorious for the stress it places on the knees.

After all this, how can you not speculate and think something is not right?

But since your a new poster I feel inclined to tell you that posting things like this will throw some Nadal supporters on this board into a internet rage and they will attack you personally and then proceed to start 8-10 threads of a. Nadal and why hes the GOAT b. Why Federer is not the GOAT.

My question is, why does it matter? If you start playing a match, you are declaring yourself fit enough to play. Nadal started the match against Rosol, so he was fit to play. Rosol won, end of story. Obsessing over how fit such and such player is, has zero effect on the legitimacy of wins and losses.

1) After losing to Rosol, in a grinder of a match, where he was running all over the court, we suddenly start hearing about knee problems. Prior to this loss (and in fact, even a few days after the loss) there was no inkling of any issues.

2) Suddenly Nadal withdraws from the London Olympics, but is expected to be back for the US Open.

3) Nadal withdraws days before the US Open, and a few other tournaments, but is expected back for Davis Cup Finals, and year end championship.

4) He withdraws from those tournaments, but is expected to be back for the Australian Open

5) Now the knee is fixed, but he is withdrawing from the Aus Open because of a stomach flu.

Oh, and all this while, with a knee injury, whose recovery time, despite the best of modern medicine and technology, they could not predict within a range of 6 months, Nadal is entering and playing golf tournaments, a sport which is notorious for the stress it places on the knees.

After all this, how can you not speculate and think something is not right?

But since your a new poster I feel inclined to tell you that posting things like this will throw some Nadal supporters on this board into a internet rage and they will attack you personally and then proceed to start 8-10 threads of a. Nadal and why hes the GOAT b. Why Federer is not the GOAT.

Clay is not hard on the body at all. It's the best surface to protect the joints on. Hardcourts are joint killers and is the surface that is the hardest on the body.

Hard courts result in more shock as the surface is harder and there is more twisting on the knees and ankles as you don't slide when changing direction.

But, clay court matches tend to turn into long grind fest which is very tough on the body too. Many greats have said that the French is the most challenging to win from a physical perspective as the points and matches last a long time with many more strokes played. Grass is the best surface for the body. Soft surface, quick points that reward shot making instead of grinding groundstroke play.

If Nadal's knees are not near 100%, even clay will be very tough on his knees.

Hard courts result in more shock as the surface is harder and there is more twisting on the knees and ankles as you don't slide when changing direction.
But, clay court matches tend to turn into long grind fest which is very tough on the body too. Many greats have said that the French is the most challenging to win from a physical perspective as the points and matches last a long time with many more strokes played. Grass is the best surface for the body. Soft surface, quick points that reward shot making instead of grinding groundstroke play.
If Nadal's knees are not near 100%, even clay will be very tough on his knees.

Anyone who has played on various surfaces including Red Clay (crushed brick dyed red) will tell you that there is a lot of stress on the calfs and thighs, which also puts stress on..............ligaments (also known as tendons)! This is why Rafa was getting numbing injections every day at 2012 RG; prob what caused the supposed tear in the petella. Bad knees are bad knees no matter what the surface, they will just be bad in different ways.

why all the speculation, why is it so hard to believe that he actually has as stomach virus and isnt/wont be physically ready for the australian open. his knee may not be 100percent either because of the illness. when someone gets sick their whole body usually gets weaker.

1) After losing to Rosol, in a grinder of a match, where he was running all over the court, we suddenly start hearing about knee problems. Prior to this loss (and in fact, even a few days after the loss) there was no inkling of any issues.

2) Suddenly Nadal withdraws from the London Olympics, but is expected to be back for the US Open.

3) Nadal withdraws days before the US Open, and a few other tournaments, but is expected back for Davis Cup Finals, and year end championship.

4) He withdraws from those tournaments, but is expected to be back for the Australian Open

5) Now the knee is fixed, but he is withdrawing from the Aus Open because of a stomach flu.

Oh, and all this while, with a knee injury, whose recovery time, despite the best of modern medicine and technology, they could not predict within a range of 6 months, Nadal is entering and playing golf tournaments, a sport which is notorious for the stress it places on the knees.

After all this, how can you not speculate and think something is not right?

You're completely wrong!

Nadal's knee issues were known during and before RG 2012; get your facts straight!

1) After losing to Rosol, in a grinder of a match, where he was running all over the court, we suddenly start hearing about knee problems. Prior to this loss (and in fact, even a few days after the loss) there was no inkling of any issues.

2) Suddenly Nadal withdraws from the London Olympics, but is expected to be back for the US Open.

3) Nadal withdraws days before the US Open, and a few other tournaments, but is expected back for Davis Cup Finals, and year end championship.

4) He withdraws from those tournaments, but is expected to be back for the Australian Open

5) Now the knee is fixed, but he is withdrawing from the Aus Open because of a stomach flu.

Oh, and all this while, with a knee injury, whose recovery time, despite the best of modern medicine and technology, they could not predict within a range of 6 months, Nadal is entering and playing golf tournaments, a sport which is notorious for the stress it places on the knees.

After all this, how can you not speculate and think something is not right?

... then you may as well add to that in three of the last four matches they played Federer smashed Nadal too - both very one sided matches and one being the worst beat-down of Nadal's career. If Djokovic is busting Nadal's gladatorial belief and a supposedly ageing Federer is still handing out the odd beatdown then it must be a jab in the knee for him when he gets out of bed in the morning.

Or, these things rarely, if ever, cross his mind and he's just focussing on the long-game in his recovery as opposed to the stop-gaps he seems to have done before.

Slow HCs (AO Plexicushion) now offer the toughest test on joints, tendons and ligaments. Six-hour grindfests are now no longer contested solely on the dirt.

If two courts are of comparable speed but one is on hard court and the other on clay, the clay court is, overall, the harder on the body to play on. This makes me think people are not necessarily getting injured by the hard courts, rather the increased amount of long matches they now play due to the general slowing of conditions.

Something most people don't seem to realise is that clay is actually a harder surface than some rubberised hard courts. Secondly, because the footing is less sure, you waste more energy when pushing off etc - even more again if you're struggling or the court is particularly dusty.

This is the most interesting part for the rest of the players, and we've already seen the consequences - Murray won a GS.

Now, with this latest news that Nadal is on a shaky ground and uncertain schedule, who will say "this is my chance to become a real contender" .. if a couple of players buy into that..., 2013 will be very interesting.

1) After losing to Rosol, in a grinder of a match, where he was running all over the court, we suddenly start hearing about knee problems. Prior to this loss (and in fact, even a few days after the loss) there was no inkling of any issues.

2) Suddenly Nadal withdraws from the London Olympics, but is expected to be back for the US Open.

3) Nadal withdraws days before the US Open, and a few other tournaments, but is expected back for Davis Cup Finals, and year end championship.

4) He withdraws from those tournaments, but is expected to be back for the Australian Open

5) Now the knee is fixed, but he is withdrawing from the Aus Open because of a stomach flu.

Oh, and all this while, with a knee injury, whose recovery time, despite the best of modern medicine and technology, they could not predict within a range of 6 months, Nadal is entering and playing golf tournaments, a sport which is notorious for the stress it places on the knees.

After all this, how can you not speculate and think something is not right?